16 And the soldiers led him away inside the palace (in other words, the Praetorium), and they called together the whole cohort. 17 And they dressed him in a purple cloak, and weaving together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. 18 And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 19 And they were hitting his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down, pretending to honour him. 20 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of that purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him on so they could crucify him.

purple cloak

Our Lord was humiliated by the soldiers pretending to honour him. The incident of the purple cloak shows how thoughtless a person can be when part of a group. I doubt if it had been only one soldier guarding Christ that there would have been anything like that show of cruelty. Like little kids on a playground, they egg each other on, becoming bullies. That is human nature.

Our Lord came to save us, even though that is who we are. We are bullies at heart. He reached down and took the purple robe, enduring the shame so that we could be rescued from ourselves. That is love.